DevLog #2: Aesthetics analysis

At the beginning of the development of a game, certain parameters such as the aesthetics and the environment in which the story will take place must be established. In this development diary entry, we will talk about the aesthetics we will use in our project.

Every detail counts. From the smallest corner to the expansiveness of a landscape, the visual environment of a game can transport players to other worlds.

The period of time in which our story will unfold immerses us in an era of profound changes in the United States, marked by the excitement of the roaring twenties, but also by social and economic tensions: "Prohibition", the rise of jazz... all of this painted a fascinating picture of America at that time.

The style that characterized that era, commonly known as the "Roaring Twenties", was Art Deco, born as a direct reaction to the austerity that followed the war and which predominates geometry and the use of lines as main visual elements in addition to Aztec and Egyptian elements among others.

This is very interesting, given that H.P. Lovecraft's stories were heavily influenced by all the archaeological and scientific discoveries of the moment as well as the aesthetics of the time.

However, H.P. Lovecraft's stories are not represented by the beauty and opulence of the Art Deco aesthetic, but rather focus on a more old-fashioned, ornate, and dark aesthetic.

Perhaps the Victorian decorative style, which prevailed during the reign of Queen Victoria of Great Britain, although it became more popular during the industrial revolution, is more akin to the type of environments we want to create in the game. Its style of classic but highly ornate furniture, floral and damask papers, and luxurious fabrics will be useful to us to recreate those typically Lovecraftian environments.

After analyzing different products based on H.P. Lovecraft's stories such as books, board games, role-playing games, and other video games, we found characteristics that are repeated over and over:

• Dark aesthetic: Use of dark colors and low lighting
• Crudeness: many illustrations even become grotesque.
• Old-fashioned: it always seems to have an aesthetic prior to the time in which the story takes place, although it is also true that many of his stories take place in rural environments and ancient mansions, so the changes originated by the aesthetic currents of the time do not arrive at the same speed as in the big cities.
• Victorian style buildings: the architecture of the buildings that usually appear on book and game covers are of Victorian aesthetic and not Art Deco.
• Decrepit environments: the scenarios that appear in games and illustrations often seem abandoned, bleak, and neglected to give a greater sense of unease.

If we want to be faithful to the aesthetics that H.P. Lovecraft fans are accustomed to, we must follow aesthetic patterns that implement these characteristics and recreate what we could call the "Lovecraft style".

To do this, we darken the typical Victorian color palette, perhaps approaching more to the Gothic style. In addition, we will use colors such as navy blue, earthy greens, reds, and yellows, with the aim of darkening those environments to give them touches of mystery or terror as required by the story at each moment.

This fusion of different elements will result in a mix that will not only enrich our environments visually, but will also create a very important visual anchor point for the narrative that will allow for greater immersion into the depths of the Lovecraft universe, where each mystery reveals an unimaginable and unnameable horror.